1521 March 16th. Magellan Reaches Phillippines.

1521 March 16th. The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines.The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan marked the beginning of an era of Spanish interest and eventual colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in the Philippines in 1565 and consolidated Spanish rule in the islands, which remained a colony of Spain for more than 300 years.